Halloween For Hunger

Halloween is a time for costumes, pumpkin carving, haunted houses, and candy. Lots and lots of candy. But while little witches and ghosts go door-to-door picking up treats, the Quest rotary club participated in Halloween For Hunger, a campaign focused on getting donations to food banks by collecting non-perishable food items rather than candy. Halloween for Hunger is led by Free the Children, a Canadian NGO that was started by a 12 year old who wanted to make a change in the world.

I’ve found that it’s easy to take food for granted. Quest, the cafeteria is always stocked, and because many students are on a meal plan, we can eat whenever we are hungry. Lack of food really seems like a non-issue. However, 1.7 million Canadians went to a food bank in 2013. 1 in 12 were turned away due to lack of food.

This was my second time participating in Halloween for Hunger, my first time at Quest. We split up into groups to hit up different neighborhoods. Armed with bags, suitcases, and vehicles, we spent 2.5 hours going from door-to-door.

Not only is Halloween for Hunger a good cause, but it was tons of fun! Trick-or-treating at 20 years old is a bit taboo, but this acceptable case brings back the childhood memories.

Since Quest students have been participating for many years, people in the neighborhood are aware of the cause and already have a stock of food for us to pick up.

In my group alone we got a trunk full of food for the Squamish food bank!!!